Broadway

So we saw three Broadway shows while we were in town. The first was "The Drowsy Chaperone", and unfortunately it was the most disappointing. The show itself is a little gem, very self-effacing and funny. But by now most of the cast is replacements, and few (if any) of them really seem to "get" the tone of the show. Granted, none of them probably had more than a day or two of actual rehearsals, so their job was hard. And certainly every one of them was competent, no one was outright terrible. But competent does not translate to zany hillarity. This showed the most anytime Danny Burstein was onstage. One of the few original cast members left, his work is just crazy brilliant, and he and Beth Leavel drew the biggest laughs by far. Bob Martin and Georgia Engle were especially missed. I hear they are both doing the tour, if it comes anywhere in the area I'm gonna try and go again. I think had I been able to see the show with the entire original cast this would've been one of my favorite shows ever.

Next up was 110 In The Shade, with John Cullum and Audra McDonald. This show is based on what is probably my favorite play of all time, "The Rainmaker". I'm not sure the musical improves on the play, and in fact really pulls some of the power from the powerful ending. However the music is fun and it is certainly an entertaining piece. But the reason to see this production is Audra. Holy crap! I don't know how she does it, but if she hadn't already won four Tony Awards I'd say this was the performance of a lifetime. Powerful, heartbreaking, full of sparkle and energy. Not to mention that voice!

Finally was Grey Gardens. This is one of my favorite documentaries ever, so I've been looking forward to seeing it. To my surprise I didn't like the show as much as I thought I would. The movie is fun, because even if it is just a lot of gawking at a couple of very eccentric old ladies, they are quite endearing and sympathetic. The play however, by showing us what their life might have been like when they were young and still relatively normal (i.e. not mentally ill), makes the whole proceedings rather sad. It is still fun to see how accurately Christine Ebersole and Mary Louise Wilson nail the two women in voice, looks and mannerisms. Spooky even. I like the music in Act Two better, just because it is more, well, weird, which I thought was appropriate. But reservations aside, it was still very fun, and I was very glad I got to see it before it closes next week (along with 110 In The Shade).

But for the record, I would've given the Tony to Audra. They were both amazing performances, but seeing them back to back, Audra was, for me, the more powerful.